Moscow braces for new anti-Putin protest

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia's opposition Saturday prepared a new mass rally against the rule of Vladimir Putin in a bid to show the protest movement can still challenge the president four months after his inauguration.

The Moscow protest march and rally has been dubbed the "March of Millions" by organisers, who in reality hope to bring around 50,000 people on the street to show they still have the momentum created by the first protests in December against Putin's ultimately successful bid for a third Kremlin term.

Split between liberals, nationalists and the extreme-left, the anti-Putin opposition has been struggling with its own divisions and accusations it lacks any coherent message beyond hostility to the Kremlin.

This protest, starting at 1000 GMT (6pm Singapore time), is set to have a bigger focus on social injustice than previous actions and for the first time the Russian Communist Party - the biggest opposition party in parliament - will be represented.